Toulouse, these emergency physicians treat sailors remotely on all the seas of the globe
By Lucie Fraisse
Published on
These are doctors who never meet their patients, or almost. And for good reason: while these emergency physicians are based in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne)those they care for in vogue on oceans and seas around the world.
Since 1983, the maritime medical consultation center (CCMM), a veritable “Samu of the Sea”is located in the Pink City.
A totally free service
Within the Louis Lareng pavilion, named after the creator – from Toulouse – of the Samu, they are a ten emergency physicians to take turns to ensure, 24 hours a day, a service of telemedical consultation and assistance totally free for all seafarers.
“Whether the captain is French or not, whether the sailor is French or not, whether the boat is in French waters or elsewhere… Pleasure boater, fisherman, merchant ship, tourist boat…: we take care of everyone, with the exception of the military”, explains Doctor Emilie Dehours, one of the CCMM’s emergency physicians.
A sandbox under the desk to remind the sea
In the small office of this Samu of the seas, three workstations, a few posters of sailboats, a planisphere, maritime magazines. Under one of the desks, a bin with a little sand: a joke from nurses from the neighboring SMUR who said that the room, a little austere, did not evoke the sea and its spray enough and wanted to harm it.
However, if the places do not invite you to get away from it all, the calls received at the CCMM undoubtedly have a taste for the open sea: fisherman Kerguelencommercial vessel up to Madagascarsailboat on the North Seas…
Nearly 6,000 calls per year
“In 2021, we answered 5,889 telemedical consultation calls for 2,360 patients, calculates Doctor Dehours. And we deal with all casesfrom the rash linked to a bite, to a heart attack, through angina, ear infections, wounds…”
The CCMM can be contacted directly by telephone, via the various To cross (regional operational centers for surveillance and rescue) of the territory or by the “Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Center”, international equivalents of the Cross.
“Teleconsultation is different according to of what we do in classic regulation (all the CCMM doctors also work for the Samu and the emergencies Editor’s note), explains Doctor Dehours. Most of our interlocutors are indeed trained in care. »
Professional sailors trained in care
All professional seafarers – who make up the vast majority of patients treated by the CCMM – must in fact follow a maritime medical training, particularly comprehensive for ship captains and officers. “They must be able to prepare a infusiondo a suture, administer medication, etc. explains Emilie Dehours. It is the doctors of the CCMM who provide this training. »
Some ships are even equipped with teleconsultation casesequipped with cameras, which allow many examinations to be carried out: temperature, blood sugar, blood pressureetc That day, Doctor Dehours thus examined an electrocardiogram sent from a ship moored in Shanghai.
“About fifty boats are supplied with these telemedicine cases. For the others, we do with the phone, sending photos, videos… The most important thing for us is to be able to project ourselves as best as possible in the place of those who intimate us. »
Why so far from the sea?
All countries with a coastline are referred from a “telemedical assistance service” (TMAS). In France, it is therefore the CCMM in Toulouse which has been designated as the TMAS for the country.
A location that can raise questions: why position this center dedicated to medical aid at sea… in the open? It is in fact linked to Saint-Lys radio, a maritime radio station, created after the Second World War, about thirty kilometers from Toulouse. Operated by the PTT and then by France Telecom, it could in particular provide radio links with ships at sea and could already put sailors and doctors from the Toulouse Samu in contact.
Saint-Lys radio ceased to operate in 1998. Without calling into question the establishment of the maritime medical consultation center in Toulouse, which had been consecrated by a ministerial instruction in 1983.
Coordination with the maritime Samu and the Cross
A call indeed. Two women in a kayak, off the creeks of Cassis (Bouches du Rhône). One of them has the symptoms of a tachycardia attack and her friend called the emergency services.
A the discussion begins then between Dr Dehours, the Cross and the sector’s maritime medical coordination Samu to decide what action to take, still decided by the CCMM doctors. UN zodiac firefighters are sent to the scene, an ambulance will be waiting for the young woman at the port to take care of her and transport her to a nearby hospital, if necessary.
We care for patients beyond the ports jetty. Once they have landed, the Samu takes over.
The care provided on board in the vast majority of cases
If necessary, the patient can be disembarked, his boat diverted. Or caregivers and rescuers are sent to the site, by helicopter in particular. But in more than 70% of cases, treatments are carried out on boardby sailors, under the supervision of doctors, remotely.
“Like when you work in the emergency room, you can take the time to call a fellow specialist to ask for additional advice,” says Dr. Dehours. During my last weekend on duty, I applied for a orthopedist and a dermatologist for example. Our goal is tohave the same quality of care as if you were on land. »
Since 2020, CCMM emergency responders can also contact their counterparts at the Center for Psychological Aid Resources at Sea (Crapem), based in Saint Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique), to offer sailors psychological support, if needed. And thus offer a full support to all navigators of the globe.
Was this article helpful to you? Note that you can follow Actu Toulouse in the My Actu space. In one click, after registration, you will find all the news of your favorite cities and brands.